BWW Exclusive: Inside the Central Academy of Drama's Broadway and China Symposium

The Central Academy of Drama (CAD) attended a Broadway to China Symposium in New York City and Chicago. The goal of the trip was to promote organizational innovation through multilateral exchanges and cooperation with the world's leading drama educational and professional theater institutions. The Central Academy of Drama is known as one of the best drama and stage arts institutions in China, training students for placement in arts organizations across the globe. It is their belief that to train students for international placement, the faculty must be knowledgeable of state of the art practices across the map.

CAD sent a group of faculty members to New York for a series of lectures, back stage tours and presentations. The professors visited The Broadway League, The Drama League, BroadwayHD, The Palace Theater, SummerStage, and The Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater. They also attended the shows: Hamilton, The Play That Went Wrong and Come From Away with a talkback after the show with lead producer, Sue Frost and several cast members. The group also found time to stop by the world famous Sardi's for lunch and a tour of the multi-floor gallery of caricatures of leading Broadway professionals on the walls of the famed eatery.

Faculty members Ma Yanping, Ma Zhenzhu, Bai Xuejiao, Chen Wen, Liu Zhiyong and translator, Qianda Rao met with Martine Sainvil, Director of Communications for The Broadway League. Sainvil led a discussion of the various programs and events provided by The Broadway League, the trade association for Broadway industry. The group got to experience a backstage tour of The Palace Theater with owner, Stewart F. Lane. Lane is a theater historian and provided a history of The Palace Theater as well as brief background on the changing landscape of Times Square. A visit to The Drama League Theater Center included conversation with Travis Ballenger, Associate Director, and Michael Leibenluft , an alumni of Drama League Directors Project. Ballenger and Liebenluft described The Drama League Directors Project- a program for early career theater directors that matches them with a professional directing opportunity and continued mentoring- and The Drama League International Exchange- a series of research, production and collaboration opportunities.

Bonnie Comley and Stewart F. Lane, Founders of BroadwayHD provided a look at the streaming platform's launch and the global appetite for digital captures of live theater experiences. Austin Shaw, BroadwayHD's West End Production Executive, described his professional history of filming West End productions for movie theaters and live streaming.

?SummerStage General Manager, Matt Wolf, gave a backstage tour of Central Park's 5000 person capacity outdoor concert and event venue. SummerStage is a venue operated by City Parks Foundation. Another City Parks Foundation program is Swedish Cottage Marionette Theatre and Puppetmobile. Bruce Cannon, the Artistic Director, gave a marionette demonstration and history of the 150 year old building and how it became a home for traditional marionette puppet shows. Alex Barteneiff, the Technical Director, gave the group a look inside the Puppetmobile, the small vehicle used to transport all the stage, sound, set and props to all five boroughs of NYC to perform free puppet shows in the city's parks. City Parks Foundation programs are located in more than 350 parks, recreation centers, and public schools across New York City, reaching 425,000 people each year.

Faculty members Ma Yanping, Ma Zhenzhu, Bai Xuejiao, Chen Wen, Liu Zhiyong and translator, Qianda Rao continued their Broadway to China Symposium with a trip to Chicago before heading back to Beijing to share their findings with faculty, administration and students at The Central Academy of Drama.

For more information on The Central Academy of Drama see: http://web.zhongxi.cn/en

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos